Before Dookie: How Punk Became Pop (1976-1987, 1988-1994)

A view at history of punk.

Pop-Punk as a sub-genre is almost as old as punk. While the genre may have hit its commercial apex in 1994, since the very start of punk rock there have been bands that mixed heartfelt lyrics and pop suss with punk's speed and aggression. It's not always been the most respected genre, but who says punk's “three chords and the truth” sentiment doesn't apply to the excruciation of a relationship gone bad. The chain of influence has generally been simplified to: Buzzcocks plus Descendents plus Husker Du equals Green Day. But its much more complex than that. So what is the evolution of pop-punk? How did we get from the Ramones to Green Day in 18 years? And most importantly, how did we get to the point where a “punk rock” band could sell 20 million records

Last time we looked at pop-punk's evolution from The Ramones to Husker Du and The Replacements. There were pop influences, goofy covers and a load of melodic hardcore. This episode will feature everything from the Californian punk scene revival featuring Bad Religion, Operation Ivy and Screeching Weasel through the independent punk labels Epitaph, Lookout Records and Fat Wreck Chords of the 90s right to Jawbreaker, The Offspring and finally Green Day's Dookie.